Facts:

The appellant claimed against the 1st respondent (Century Merchant Bank) in an undefended suit in Akwa Ibom State High Court, Uyo and obtained judgment against the 1st respondent in the sum of N413,117.83 (Four hundred and thirteen thousand, one hundred and seventeen Naira eighty kobo) plus 10% interest on the said amount until the judgment debt was finally liquidated and N5,000.00 (Five thousand Naira) as cost. The 1st respondent as a judgment debtor paid the sum of N50,000.00 (Fifty thousand Naira) of the judgment debt and cost before it became distressed and went under. The (2nd respondent) NDIC stepped into the shoes of the judgment debtor having taken over its assets and liabilities including the instant judgment debt. The NDIC then paid the sum of N50,000.00 (Fifty thousand Naira) to the judgment creditor, thus bringing the total amount paid to the judgment creditor before the instant action to N100,000.00 (One hundred thousand Naira). The judgment creditor then instituted garnishee proceedings at the Federal High Court to attach the funds of the judgment debtor (1st respondent) with the NDIC as the 1st Garnishee and the First Bank of Nigeria Plc as the 2nd Garnishee for the outstanding sum of N521,421.01 (Five hundred and twenty one thousand four hundred and twenty one Naira one kobo). Pursuant to the said proceeding, the court made an Order nisi but declined to make the order nisi, absolute on the grounds that the Central Bank of Nigeria had ordered the winding-up of the judgment debtor (the Century Merchant Bank) which in the circumstances amounted to a winding-up by court. The trial court also found that the action was incompetent for want of leave of the court to institute the said garnishee proceeding under section 417 of Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) as sections 413 and 414 of CAMA have barred execution on such judgment debtor. Thus, the trial court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the matter ab initio.

The judgment creditor (appellant) was aggrieved by this decision and appealed to the Court of Appeal.